Rupp Arena to Serve as Primary Home Venue for UK Indoor Sports in 2023-24
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center will serve as the primary home venue for the Kentucky Gymnastics, Volleyball and Women’s Basketball teams for the 2023-24 season while Memorial Coliseum undergoes an $82 million renovation.
Kentucky volleyball and gymnastics home matches are expected to be held in the downtown Lexington venue. Almost all of Kentucky women’s basketball’s games will be in Rupp Arena, but for a few exceptions when the facility has previous commitments.
For the few dates Rupp Arena is unavailable, Transylvania University’s Clive M. Beck Center will be UK’s home venue.
The STUNT team’s primary home venue will be announced soon. The team has already successfully hosted events at other campus venues this year and is in the process of finishing plans for next season.
The volleyball, women’s basketball, gymnastics, and STUNT teams will release their 2023-24 schedules soon.
Season ticket information for volleyball, women’s basketball, and gymnastics will be released later this spring. All current season ticket holders in each sport will receive an email with further details once renewal invoices have been posted to their online accounts.
Fans interested in becoming new season ticket holders can fill out this form to receive additional information from UK Athletics as soon as season ticket sales begin for the 2023-24 season at Rupp Arena.
Fans interested in contributing directly to the project can do so at this link, and Big Blue Nation is encouraged to contribute on Wednesday, April 19, the “One Day for UK.” Interested contributors can also contact the K Fund at 859-257-6300.
The Memorial Coliseum renovation will modernize a facility originally completed in 1950 and will expand the ability to host campus events such as guest speakers and seminars, the arts, step shows and student-led philanthropic events such as DanceBlue and Greek Sing.
From an athletics department standpoint, Memorial Coliseum includes the Center for Academic and Tutorial Services – first of its kind in the nation for athlete-focused academic enhancement — various support facilities and is home to four women’s athletics teams: basketball, the 2022 SEC Tournament champion; gymnastics, which finished sixth in the nation at this year’s NCAA Championship; the six-time defending SEC champion and 2020 NCAA champ volleyball squad; and the latest addition to the UK Athletics portfolio, STUNT, which finished as the Division I runner-up in 2023.
The original 1950 building was a memorial to servicemen and women who died in World War II and also honors those who have fallen in the Korean War, Vietnam War and subsequent military service. The renovation project will include an upgraded memorial.
The modernization will encompass all of the building interior and bring climate-control improvements; modern seating for campus, community and athletic events; systems-related upgrades such as life safety, security, lighting and sound; and improve the facility overall experience for the female student-athletes who represent Kentucky so well.
The current building has served the University for more than seven decades and the goal is to upgrade a facility that will move Wildcat Athletics forward for decades to come.
The construction process for Memorial Coliseum renovation project has begun. The plan is for the athletic competition areas to be ready for use in the fall of 2024, while additional areas are being completed.
For more information, go to ukathletics.com/memorial-coliseum-renovation.
